During the transition period between the fall and winter seasons this year, the JV and varsity cheerleading squads lost sixteen athletes.

The cheerleaders quit for a variety of reasons. “I was just tired of it. It was way too stressful and doing my schoolwork was an issue,” said sophomore Lauren Foster, who left JV cheerleading.

“I don’t think it’s fair to the people who have been working hard all season to change their routines because others decide that they don’t want to cheer in the winter,” said Logan Hayes, a junior who has been on varsity since her freshman year.

The varsity team is now down to 16 girls from 24. Out of those 16, however, only 14 will be able to compete in the approaching competition Saturday, November 21. The JV team went from 20 to 12 members, forcing them to withdraw from the competition.

Senior Kayla Rolek and freshman Lauren Heim, both on varsity, are unable to participate in the competition. Rolek has mononucleosis and Heim sprained her ankle.

Seven of the girls that quit from varsity were seniors. “I love cheerleading,” said senior Sara Weskalines, “but I really needed a job and my senior project is very time consuming.”

On JV, girls were tired of practices and games. In addition, “there was a lot of tension between some of the girls,” said Abby Anderson, junior JV co-captain.

Because competition divisions are based on the number of girls on the team, varsity “had to change to a different division, one that the team is not used to competing in,” said Hayes.

Varsity head coach Sandy Jones said, “I am ecstatic to have such a great group of girls on the team. The current team demonstrates tremendous skill, dedication, and great attitudes. We have a lot of talent on the team, and I feel very optimistic about our upcoming competition.”

 “Although we have lost a lot of people, we still have many good cheerleaders. With hard work, we’ll be great,” said Hayes.

[nggallery id=29]

Kirby Browning can be reaced for comment at [email protected].